


Afraid of the Water

by Hallow17



Category: Free!
Genre: Another case of the feels, Because I wanted to, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Goumako, Sadness, makogou, the ocean
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-29
Updated: 2015-07-29
Packaged: 2018-04-11 22:15:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4454414
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hallow17/pseuds/Hallow17
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gou never goes into the water. She has a story behind it, one she can't tell to anyone. During an trip to the ocean her long hidden feelings come back and a certain someone can see she isn't exactly her usual self. Certain events happen that make the two become closer than ever.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Afraid of the Water

**Author's Note:**

> Ok, this has been an idea of mine i wanted to make for a while. An explanation to why Gou avoids the water but also with some Gou/Makoto loving teehee. Have fun reading!

Gou looked up at the boys in her white and pink bikini, the sun beating down at them and causing that familiar warm flush on her skin. Her sandals were already filled with sand that got in between her toes. She heard the crashing of waves and felt a familiar terror shoot through here. She was at the beach again. She tried to ignore it.

Ms. Amakata was walking around with an umbrella, clad in white shorts and a pink shirt, a white sweater over it. Gou didn’t know how she survived these temperatures in so much clothes but she didn’t ask. She already knew Ms. Amakata had a thing for swimsuits.

“Today is supposed to be fun so make sure you guys relax!” She called out to the boys who were already running to the ocean. Ms. Amakata sighed, bowing her head. “These guys are such a handful.” She muttered to herself. When she looked back up though Gou noticed she was smiling at them. Ms. Amakata was a good person at heart.

“Hai!” Nagisa cheered. He had taken Rei’s hand and forced him over to the edge of the waters. “Rei-chan, lets swim for a little and then we can build a sand castle!” He said hopping up and down. He kicked at the water, spraying it towards Makoto who was busy dipping a toe into the water and testing it out. Gou couldn’t help the mile that appeared on her lips when she looked at her senpai. Her heart fluttered a little bit and she was startled by the feelings. No, it was probably all of the muscles here, she told herself.

Haru was always one step ahead of everyone. As soon as they got out of the car he was flinging his clothes in the air and running to the water silently. He dove in just as a dolphin would and was coming up and swimming around as everyone knew he would. Gou looked at everyone and marveled at the muscles.

“Look at those deltoids! The abs! All of the muscles!” She exclaimed, stars in her eyes. Everyone was so beautiful and muscular and toned. She couldn’t get enough of it! Her eyes once again found their way to Makoto though, treasuring him most of all. From his height to those calming eyes she always felt differently about him. Something about the way he was, that gentle, nurturing smile or his kind voice had her heart beating in a different way than when she ogled at muscles.

“The water isn’t bad either.” Makoto said as he began immersing himself, getting down to his swim trunks before Gou snapped out of her staring. She felt her cheeks get a little red, looking around to make sure no one noticed her. Then she went to where Ms. Amakata was and went through her beach bag to get her blanket and her umbrella.

Sasabe came up to them, dragging a cooler across the sand in his scary swimsuit.  Gou tried not to stare at it too much because it might rub off on her. “Have fun but don’t forget to eat lots and drink water guys! I brought a few things!” He yelled over to them, waving like a doting parent. Gou didn’t want to know what was in that cooler. Sasabe was into weird foods anyway.

She got her towel down perfectly and kicked off her sandals, sitting down to look at the boys. Ms. Amakata was sitting in her beach chair, her umbrella blocking out the sun from hitting her.

“Gou, I never really see you in the water.” Ms. Amakata pointed out. Gou flinched, then looked up at her.

“Ano… The water isn’t really my thing.” She shrugged. Her voice came out a little melancholic despite her efforts to speak normally. She looked back at the ocean and watched Nagisa pull Rei into it, splashing about over there.

“Hmm…” Mr. Amakata said in return. She seemed to be thinking about something but she let the topic drop. Gou pulled her legs in and rested her head on them to look at the boys.

Everyone seemed to be having so much fun out there. Gou was always left standing out on the sidelines when it came to the water. She could participate in other things, get the boys ready for competitions and set up their schedules. She could write down notes on how they swam and where they needed to be in a certain amount of time with their swimming. But she could never _really_ be with them. It was almost like the others were one with the water, swimming around so joyously. And Gou? She was afraid of it.

She didn’t try to be. She tried to be strong when she was around it, to not show her fear to the others on her face but inside she was terrified by it. The water truly scared her. It has ever since she was five…

“Hey, Gou,” Gou was startled by that warm, inviting voice she had memorized long ago, pulled out of her thoughts. She looked up into sea green eyes at a smiling Makoto. His swim trunks clung to his thighs and dripped water down his toned legs. Gou swallowed hard, trying not to ogle at him for long.

“Yeah?” She asked back, taking in his half naked body and the beads of water coming down his chest. She pinched her leg and went back to looking into his eyes.

“Do you want anything from the shack?” Makoto asked, pointing to the little store off to her left. Gou looked back at it, using her arms to hold her as she turned. She looked back at Makoto and opened her mouth to answer when someone else called out.

“Oooo! Mako-chan is going to the shaved ice store!” Nagisa yelled. “Can I have a lemon Italian icey? And Rei, what would you like?” He asked, taking Rei’s arm and tugging at it so Rei was tipping sideways back and forth. Rei sighed and raised his goggled off his face.

“I’ll take a lime one.” He said matter of fact. Makoto turned to look over at them and nodded his head. Then he looked at Haru, expecting him to say something.

“Hey, Haru, you want anything?” Makoto asked. Haru shook his head and dove back into the water like a dolphin. Gou smiled at the sight of him swimming around like a he had found his home. She looked back at Makoto right when he turned and smile at her again. “How about you Gou?” He said to her again. The tone he used with her was different from the one he used with the others. It seemed gentler in fact, like he was paying special attention to her. She shook those thoughts from her head though. He was always kind to everyone, she reminded herself.

“Um, it looks like you have a tall order over there.” She nodded her chin in the direction of the boys. She didn’t want to burden Makoto with what she wanted too so she decided just to get up and go over with him. She shook her hands of any sand and started to get up. “I’ll just go with you. I can help carry some of them with you.” She decided as she stood up. Makoto backed up to let her move, his eyes watching her carefully.

“You don’t have to.” He started. “But thank you. I didn’t think the others would hear me to be honest.” He gave her a shy but utterly adorable smile. Gou waved her hands.

“No, it’s ok, don’t even worry about it.” She said as she took a simple sheer wrap and tied it around her waist to create a makeshift long skirt that flowed away from her legs. She put her arm up in determination. “I can handle at least this much.” She said. She could help out a friend just fine and this would give her something to do even if for a moment.

Makoto smiled warmly at her and she felt her body feel a little heated with the look he gave her. He turned, probably having accepted that she wasn’t going to take no for an answer then, and started towards the cute little shack a little ways away from their spot on the beach.

“You’re pretty persistent when you want to be.” He said to her, turning his head to look at her. Gou felt her pony tail swipe at her back as she walked side by side with Makoto.

“I get that a lot.” She told him. “But I don’t see it as a bad thing. Persistence is important when you want to do something. It helps you trudge through it no matter how hard it may seem.” She looked up at him knowing she had said something a little strong given the lightweight, fun atmosphere of today. Makoto blinked at her but in his eyes she knew he understood her on that.

“Yeah, you’re right. It is important to get what you want done.” He agreed with her. He gave her a quick onceover. For some reason something felt a little different about her. He didn’t really get to talk to her one on one before without swimming on the agenda so this felt nice, sincere almost. He kinda liked it.

Gou held her hands together in front of her. “Yup. So we keep moving forward.” She said, trying to find words to fill the silence so her nerves wouldn’t get the better of her. “Anyway, I thought you would be out there, I don’t know, swimming with Haru. You two are always so close.” She thought to how they always seemed together in school and how Makoto always knew what Haru would like or how he would react. It was sweet. Makoto gave a little chuckle and Gou’s red eyes flicked over to him, her eyebrows furrowing. He had brought his hand up to his mouth to cover the little laughter escaping his lips.

“Haru is kind of in his own world whenever he gets into the water. Being in the ocean doubles that.” He tried to explain. Gou tried to understand it for herself. So, in essence, Makoto couldn’t compete with the ocean then, she gathered. “It’s not bad though!” He said quickly as if he had insulted Haru and needed to take it back. “I swam for a little bit and watched Nagisa try to pull Rei into the water when he wasn’t ready. Nagisa can be pretty pushy sometimes.” Makoto noted. Gou had seen that too herself but she didn’t remember seeing Makoto swimming around. That was probably when her thoughts had caused her to space out.

“Yeah, Nagisa over there is going to give Rei a heart attack.” She sighed. “This is supposed to be fun. Like a relaxing retreat sort of thing. Rei doesn’t need to be scared of the water.” Her voice cracked at the end of that and she flinched at the sound. As soon as she said it she was reminded of her own fear of the ocean. Rei wasn’t like her. He wasn’t like her and nothing bad would happen, she drilled into her head.

Makoto turned his head to the side, having caught that Gou sounded strange. It only further proved to him that something was wrong with her today. He tried to change the subject.

“Other than that though it’s a really great day to be at the beach. It’s nice to get a break from training.” He smiled at her. “You have us all in good shape Gou. We couldn’t have done any of this without you.” He said, is voice dipping down and becoming lower while still maintaining its sweet quality. Gou couldn’t help the smile that touched her lips, feeling like she had received some sort of high honor just by those words. Her heartbeat became a little faster.

“Thanks Makoto. But it’s you guys that put in all the work. I just make sure your training matches up with where you need to be for the races.” She countered, not thinking very highly of her role in the club. It was important but it wasn’t like she herself was working out so hard to make things work.

Makoto’s eyebrows furrowed this time. He stopped walking and turned to look at her more fully. She halted to a stop when she saw he was no longer walking. Makoto looked at her seriously this time.

“Hey,” he began in a gentle voice, “what you do is just as important for the team Gou. You are just as important as any of us.” He looked over to the others by the beach, now small since they were farther away from them. Then he returned his eyes to Gou. Gou’s cheeks turned a little pink, embarrassed at being told any of this. “Without you we wouldn’t have everything together. You whip us into pretty good shape.” Makoto cracked a smile and Gou held her hands in front of her, tightening her grip on them. She gave a shy smile back, not believing Makoto was actually reassuring her right now. Before he had the chance to open his mouth again she started flailing.

“No, no, I’m fine, I get it!” She said, her eyes shut tight for a moment. She opened them back up to look at Makoto and gave him a stronger smile. “Really, it’s fine M…Makoto.” She stuttered at his name, not really used to saying it like this, with them being one on one. She moved a piece of her hair behind her ears and took a deep breath. Then she lightly slapped both of her cheeks and tried to smile for real. “Come on, we have Italian ice to grab.” She went behind Makoto now and practically began shoving him.

“Wait, wha-” He looked back, at first worried but he caught her expression. She did understand what he was saying, even if only a little. That made him feel a little better. He didn’t want her to think she was useless on the team because she wasn’t. She most definitely was necessary. She helped put the team together. She was always cheerful and easygoing and she always worried about all of them like a doting mother. Makoto had gotten used to being around her, to seeing that smile on her face or seeing her proud of their accomplishments. She was… Well, to him, she was special.

Makoto snapped himself out of those thoughts and just decided to go with the flow on this one, walking more normally after being pushed in the direction of the shack. “Ok, onward and forward we go then.” He said with a bright smile, looking at Gou and then forward. Gou tipped her head to the side, smiling back and let him go, walking side by side with him to the little shack.

 

Gou and Makoto reached the boys, having to juggle all the Italian ices in their hands. At one point Gou thought she would have dropped one but she save it, having to bear witness to a startled but glad Makoto. The boys all rushed to grab their stuff and set up a blanket to sit on the sand in front of Ms. Amakata and Gou. Only, well, Makoto wanted to stray a little.

Gou had gone off to sit on her towel, bunching her legs in front of her, when Makoto was almost about to sit down. Rei and Nagisa were sword fighting with their spoons over which flavor was the best and Haru was mumbling something about mackerel flavored Italian ice, which sounded horribly unpleasing. Makoto put a spoonful of his own flavor, green apple, into his mouth and concluded he wanted to sit near Gou for a little. So he did.

Gou had been playing with her Italian ice when she saw a shadow near her, accompanied with sand shooting off to her right. She looked up to see none other than Makoto.

“Mind if I sit next to you for a little while?” He asked, he pointed to the umbrella. “The shade looks kind of nice.” He said, coming up with a half-baked excuse to sit next to her. He didn’t need an excuse though because Gou wouldn’t have minded either way. She nodded her head, her ponytail bobbing up and down.

“Yeah, sure. I bet the sun can’t be too fun to stay in for so long.” She smiled and patted the seat next to her. She was feeling a little more confident with herself since Makoto had given her that talk. Makoto sat down in the empty space where her legs had been before. Her eyes glanced over his body as he did, catching the way his muscles contorted and contracted just beneath the skin. She had to stop herself from going all googly eyes at it, blinking hard to snap out of it.

Makoto looked at her and then at the sky. “The sun isn’t too bad today. I’m sure  the others and I are going to get nice tans out of this.” He stated as he kept gazing into the sky. He brought another spoonful of his Italian ice to his mouth. Gou did the same, already having half-finished hers.

“At least you can tan. I have to avoid the sun or I’ll burn.” Gou pouted. She could be in the sun in small doses but she didn’t want to turn into a red lobster. She also didn’t want to be near the water and having an excuse like burning was a nice way to stay away from the ocean she feared. Her eyes caught the waves that crashed down on the shore, pushing the sand and taking with it any trace of human contact, wiping away all the footprints or marks left by the guys.

“Maybe you need stronger sunscreen.” He turned his head to look at her. His eyes glanced over her body quickly and then back to her eyes. “It could be that you just have sensitive skin to the sun, which isn’t a bad thing either.” He clarified for her. Her skin was so creamy and soft looking that he could imagine her burning. She was beautiful though so maybe beauty sometimes came with a price, he thought and kind of felt bad for thinking like that.

Gou smiled at him and looked over the umbrella for a moment to see where the sun was at in the sky. “Maybe when it gets down a little further I’ll get out of being under the umbrella.” She decided. If the sun wasn’t bearing down on her she would be ok. Plus, she did get the feeling that messing around with the others would be fun. And she got just the smallest inkling that Makoto wouldn’t mind that at all. In fact, it kinda looked like he wanted to see her having fun with them too.

“That would be great!” He said cheerfully, excited at seeing Gou actually contemplating hanging out with them. She deserved this break just as much as the others. He knew for some reason that she didn’t particularly like the water but that didn’t mean she couldn’t have fun.

He didn’t say anything more after that and instead they both ate their Italian ice silently. Gou watched the way the breeze picked up Makoto’s hair, gently tossing it around. Gou finished her Italian ice a little bit after Makoto did and put it to the side. He was busy staring off into space for a while so she spent the time looking at him instead. Really looking at him.

She had seen the boys in swim gear a lot of times but she only ever really looked at them to take notes of their times and how they swim or to make sure they were each on the right path to improving. Taking time to look at them without that being her agenda felt a little odd. She felt like she was doing something naughty but, well, she couldn’t help herself. She also had a thing for their muscles, but that was a whole other story.

She found that her eyes were kind of transfixed on Makoto’s hair. The sunlight made it look fluffy while at the same time bringing out the green undertones of his hair. She was reminded of his almost jade green eyes, warm and kind just like him. She didn’t really know when she started having feelings for her upperclassman friend but it was almost as if it was all of a sudden. The two usually saw eye to eye with each other when it came to the swim club and they spoke a little bit here and there but they were never too close. Shye just one day started thinking about him a little more as a friend and from there things spiraled for her. She turned her head to look down at her Italian ice and sipped at the melted left overs.

“Hey, Gou…” She heard a different tone to Makoto’s usual soft, kind voice. She put her cup down slowly and looked at him. A breeze came by and shook the umbrella a little, blowing some stray pieces of her hair across her face. She looked at Makoto and saw that he was looking out to the sea, a sullen look on his face. “Why don’t you like the water?” He asked her. He turned to look at her now, his eyes warm but uncertain in this moment, almost like he was curious but at the same time respectful of boundaries.

Gou was so caught off by the question that she couldn’t even form words. The silence between them was thick. Gou felt her heartbeat thumping in her chest, her mind remembering her past. She couldn’t stand the way Makoto was looking at her. It was too sweet, too nice. She didn’t deserve it. It hurt.

She did the first thing she can think of and immediately threw on a mask, her face fixing itself to a normal cheery smile. It was only superficial though and faltering made it seem that much less real. “I’m not afraid of the water. I just choose not to go in it because it can be pretty gross.” She lied, trying to think of the best excuse that didn’t sound too bad. The lie itself hurt her to say. She didn’t want to lie to Makoto but she needed to protect herself from the worse pain of her memory.

Makoto just looked at her for a moment, his eyes more concerned now than before. She ignored it though, chose to instead lay back where she could look at the sky. She couldn’t take the way he looked without wanting to break, to finally tell someone.

Makoto didn’t say anything when she laid back. It was a few moments before she heard him moving, felt a familiar tug on her towel. He was standing up. He looked down at her and she knew he wasn’t going to try to force her to say anything.

“I’m here if you ever need someone to talk to, Gou.” He said her name differently this time, like it held some sort of important meaning. He was being gentle with her and she appreciated it but it made her feel worse about the whole thing. She watched him walk off to the others and join them on their blanket. She felt really stupid there, watching her friends enjoy the day with reckless abandon while she sat there drowning in her past.

She couldn’t run away from it forever.

*****

The day went by and they had all retreated to their respective cabins for the night. Gou was on her tatami mat tossing and turning, not being able to fall asleep. She stared up at the ceiling just as she had stared up at the sky earlier. Ms. Amakata was already fast asleep so it was only her and the little whirring fan.

Gou sighed and got up after once again trying and failing to go to sleep. Outside she could hear rain pitter pattering on the roof of their cabin. It had started up maybe an hour ago but she didn’t think it was a full on storm. It was just some rain after all. Gou went over to the little window, running her fingers through her hair to get out any tangles she might have created tossing and turning in bed. She pressed her hand to the delicate glass looking out at the ocean. The waves were choppier than before as they crashed down on the beach in quick successions.

Her earlier conversation with Makoto left a bad taste in her mouth and she couldn't help but keep thinking about it. He was her friend. She could have told him the truth yet she was so afraid to. She had kept it to herself for so long that telling people was hard to do. But the image of that day kept coming back.

Gou had been a kid when it happened. It was a gray day, the type of day where you just knew it was going to rain. Rin and Gou had been taken to a quiet little river their father liked to bring them to. They were playing around by the waterfront just like they normally did. But Gou hadn’t been balanced on a particular jump she tried and accidently missed a step on the wooden platform along the water. She fell in within moments.

She didn't know how to swim but her little arms tried anyway to keep her head above water. She had screamed for someone to save her, crying out for help. She knew Rin was able to swim but she also feared for him in this situation. It all happened so fast. A wave came over her and ripped her under, tossing her into the currents below the water. She clenched her eyes shut and tried to pull herself up but she didn't know where she was and she couldn't breathe. Her lungs burned so bad. She had to breathe and when it became too much she did, sucking up water and then, that was it.

Her father had saved her in time and she survived it but ever since she stayed clear of the water. She didn't play around it like the others, nor did she go near it with Rin. And today it reminded her eerily of that day.

She put her hair back up in her signature ponytail and took one last look out the window when she saw something moving. She pressed closer into the glass, squinting to see what it was. It was big enough to see but also small, like a dog. Wait, no, it was a dog! There was a dog by the water! Her heart thumped in her chest and she wanted to yell to get the dog away from the waves. It was dangerous out there! She looked at the ocean and saw a particularly large wave coming closer to the shore and she knew, she just knew the doggie was in trouble. She bit her lip and made a small, helpless noise before she couldn't bear to watch.

She reacted on instinct knowing she had to do something. She ran to the door of their little cabin and ripped it open, slamming it shut behind her. The rain started pelting her almost immediately, beginning to drench her lightweight pajamas. She ran towards the water, her feet digging into the sand and causing her to slide. The water ran down her back and matted her hair to her face but she had to make it there. She had to.

She heard the wave crash down and the distinctive cry of a dog. "Oh god!" She cried out as she ran faster, tripping and almost falling to the sandy beach. She kept her footing though and catapulted herself forwards until there she was, freezing and grinding to a halt. The water spilled over her feet as if beckoning her to enter it, to even dare. It was scary. Her heart pounded in her chest but her resolve was made when she saw the dog trying to swim for dear life.

She ran forward, the water weighing her movements down. She got in waist deep pretty fast when a wave crashed into her and threatened to knock her down. She felt tears in her eyes, knowing what she was doing was stupid. But she couldn't just leave the dog out there. Her fears didn't matter. Saving the dog did. 

She waded through the water until she was neck deep, watching the dog fight its way to stay above the surface. Thunder rumbled above, making Gou flinch. She saw that the lignthing was in the clouds rather than shooting down towards the ground but it didn’t make her feel any better. She took a deep breath, goosebumps on her skin from the water, and trudged further on. Her mind flashed back to when she was a kid, when she had almost drowned. It was crippling, the thought of being in the water again. She wanted to go back so bad, to be safe on land. But she had made it this far. The dog cried out and she was jolted out of her thoughts. 

"C-come here little doggie!" She yelled over to it, smashing her hands against the water to show it to come to her. It turned its head and she did it again. A wave ran over her but it wasn't big enough to drag her under. She was losing her footing though on the ground, her toes fighting to stay in the sand. 

"Come here! I-It'ss ok! It'll be o-ok!" Her words slurred from her chattering teeth, her body shaking from the fear. The dog turned its body now and began swimming towards her. She was so relieved. She really was. She called it over again and it kept paddling to her, getting closer and closer. They both bobbed up and down by a wave, this one bigger than before. She looked behind the dog to see another wave was coming, this one just as big, if not bigger, than the one that had taken the dog into the water. Her anxiety spiked, now panic on her face.

"Come on boy! Come on!" She said in a high pitched voice. The dog was so close. She could reach it if she knew how to swim but she couldn't. She couldn't!

The dog swam close enough that when she extended her arms she was able to grab him. In a rush she turned her body, seeing the oncoming wave, and pushed the dog forward before her. The dog swam frantically and she knew it was going to be fine, that it would reach the shore before the wave came down. But when she tried to get out herself she heard the water swell behind her and then it was crashing down on her head, forcing her forward and under the water from the sheer weight of it. 

Gou's eyes were open and her arms shot out to peel through the water but she couldn't feel the air. She was just treading water. Her eyes started burning and she clenched them shut, trying to fight her way above the water. Then just as suddenly a current swept under her, pulling her out with it. She knew this was the worst possible situation. She wasn't going to be able to get up and get air like this and she didn't know how to swim.

Her lungs started burning and her muscles clenched as she fought her way up to claw out of the black waters but she couldn't feel anything under there. There was nowhere to go. There was no up or down. No right or left. Here, there was nothing but water and sand.

She started feeling like her lungs would explode and she puffed out her cheeks. She needed oxygen. Her body was desperate for oxygen but here there was none. She needed to breathe so badly, her body crying out for air. Her face scrunched up and she pictured her worst fear over again, inhaling a lung full of water just as she had done as a kid. She would be done here though. There was no one there to help her this time, no one to witness it. She didn’t even have time to scream for help. She was stuck in a watery grave.

When she felt her body about to give up, her lungs not being able to take it and her arms growing weaker by the second, she almost inhaled. She was going to admit defeat, needing to breathe but knowing it wasn’t air she would be taking in. But none of that happened. Not before she felt something strong pull her by her flailing arms.  She shrieked in the water, the last of her oxygen bubbling away with her scream. She knew what came next, water was going to enter her mouth and it would be all over under there. She would be gone. No one would know what happened.

Whatever grabbed onto her pulled her close and she felt the familiar warmth of someone else. Then, just as suddenly that warmth was on her mouth covering it from getting any water in her system. Whoever was holding her exhaled oxygen into her and she was so, so glad for it. It felt weird, invading, but she needed whatever she could get. She closed her eyes tightly, the sting of the salt too much, and inhaled whatever the other person was willing to give her. It was enough for her to still be alive. Their mouths were connected and their breath shared. Her body, once frantic, held onto this person, clutching onto them in the dark waters. They were keeping her alive. They were her life net here.

She opened her eyes, her heart pounding with receding fear and shock at the touch to see a blurry image of someone she was very familiar with, his hair tousled in the water and his eyes closed tightly. Then he closed his mouth against hers and opened his eyes. Gou closed her mouth too to keep the air inside her. It was Makoto.

Makoto was there with her. He was saving her life. She had no idea how he even knew where she was or that she was in the water but she didn't question it. He gripped her tightly and started pulling the two above the water and she followed suit. She held onto his shoulders and kicked her feet to help although she didn't think she did much.

They burst out of the water and into the sweet, fresh air. Gou took a heavy breath in, her lungs filling up with all the air she could possibly intake until she had to breathe out. She had never been more thankful for oxygen in her life. Her vision was blurry and she felt lightheaded, a result from no oxygen but what mattered is that she could breathe and she wasn’t alone.

Makoto held onto her and breathed for a few moments too. Gou's eyes locked on his and she saw that he was not only concerned for her but that he was just as terrified as she was. She was taken aback by the intense look on his face. 

"We have to get to shore!" He told her above the wind and the crashing waves. She nodded her head and together the two started swimming back. Gou was not a seasoned swimmer like Makoto and she was basically being carried along by him, left to kick a little and mostly watch him swim strong against the water. It was almost breathtaking how well his body could handle the waves, as if he belonged in the water. He tore through it and it was only moments before the two could feel the land at their feet. Gou's legs were wobbly so Makoto helped her stand up, forcing their way out. Eventually, when they were safe Gou couldn't handle it and she collapsed onto the sand, her breaths heavy and her heart beating so hard in her chest. Makoto had saved her life. She almost drowned saving a dog and Makoto saved her. She couldn't believe it. She couldn't believe she did something so reckless.

"Gou, are you ok?" Makoto stopped and bent down to her. She let the question sit there for a few moments, just focusing on breathing. Then she nodded her head up and down, turning her head to look at him. Both of them were completely drenched and the rain was keeping them like that. Water rolled down her arms and her legs, dripping from her pajamas that clung to her skin. Makoto was in a thin t-shits and pajama shorts, both of which clung to his built body.

"I'm... I'm ok." She said, her voice a little shaky. Physically she knew she was ok. She was fine now. But mentally she was trapped, repeating the terrorizing cycle of what just happened. Her body was taken over by the fear, the adrenaline shooting through her and numbing her cold limbs, her muscles not working to move, to shift, to do anything. Her breaths came in fast, short gasps. She was having a panic attack. She gripped at the sand trying to focus but her mind kept replaying the water, the dark burial ground that had been so close to having its grasp on her, to taking her life twice now.

"Gou." Makoto sat down on the ground beside her and brought a hand to her shoulder. His other one went under her chin gently and brought her to look at him. His eyes were worried, more worried than she had ever seen them but they were still gentle, just like he always was. "It's ok. You're ok now. You're going to be ok." He told her calmly. It was almost like he knew exactly what was going on.

Gou looked at him with wide eyes and before she knew it she was wrapping her arms around him tightly, holding him close to her as tears sprung from her eyes down her face, mixing with the salt water from the ocean. She finally let herself feel the years of terror from the water, let herself cry, let those feelings wash through her and out as she held onto the only person who seemed to know she was hurting even when she never told him. She cried into the humid night air, Makoto’s arms wrapped protectively around her.

**Author's Note:**

> And there we have it, my first Free! fanfiction! This one isn't that developed but i had fun with it. Thanks for reading and i love to hear from you guys so feel free to comment.


End file.
